Year in Review: The 2009 full-year totals for Detwiler do not inspire much confidence. It's hard to really point at one thing confidently and say he has a future in the league. There are some glimmers of hope. For one, Detwiler compiled a K/9 of more than eight-per-nine in the minors in 2009 (in 16 starts above Double-A). Two, he gets Major Leaguers to expand the strike zone (29% career reach rate). Three, his curve ball (14.5% in 2009) seems to be a decent pitch (+2.9 runs) and his fastball sits comfortably at 91 mph. Four, he throws with his left hand. Five, he put up a sub-4.00 FIP (3.86). Though it would be tempting to blame some of his bad luck on his BABIP (.330), a quick look at his minor-league BABIPs (all over .345) suggests that he may not ever put up a league-average BABIP.

The Year Ahead: Detwiler is relevant mostly because of the dearth of options for the Nationals rotation next year. He'll probably compete with fellow mediocre lefty Matt Chico for the fifth spot, despite putting up better peripherals than fellow Nationals hurler J.D. Martin. With Chico returning from Tommy John surgery, the early money is on Detwiler to take the job and perhaps perform a little better than he did in 2009. Nothing in his minor-league record (4.08 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 career) screams “Major League stud” but with some adjustments, Detwiler could contribute to the back end of the Nationals rotation and as an end-game flier in deeper fantasy leagues. (Eno Sarris)

Profile: Former top draft-pick Ross Detwiler hasn't shown much in his first 100 big-league innings. He'll turn 25 in March, and he won't get too many more second chances after 2011. He missed most of 2010 with hip injuries, starting the year on the DL and then returning to the DL in August. But he wasn't having a good year. He was a strikeout pitcher in the minors, but his strikeouts have dropped precipitously in the majors, as his strikeout to walk ratio has dropped from 2.32 to 1.30. He isn't assured a rotation spot, either, as the Nationals have pursued Carl Pavano and other free-agent pitchers. Unless he has a scorching spring, he may start out the season in the bullpen, and, unless he can push his strikeouts to where they were in the minors, he might have to stay there. Detwiler has the talent to stick -- or at least he once did -- but without the ability to miss bats, it’s hard to recommend him. (Alex Remington)

The Quick Opinion: He'll turn 25 in March, and he won't get too many more second chances after 2011. Detwiler has the talent to stick -- or at least he once did -- but without the ability to miss bats, it’s hard to recommend him.

Profile: The sixth pick in the ’07 draft, Detwiler is now just an afterthought behind the likes of Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann in the Nats’ rotation. But the adequacy he showed in 2011 was a welcome sight after surgery for a torn labrum in his hip derailed his career the previous year. The lefty opened the season at Triple-A Syracuse, where he compiled a 3.49 FIP and a 63/32 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 87.1 innings. Upon reaching Washington in July, Detwiler had a 4.21 FIP and a 41/20 K/BB in 66 frames. Not great, but he did regain some of the velocity he lost in 2009-2010 by sitting at 92 MPH. That fastball might be his ticket to a career as a mid-to-back rotation arm, but his fringy curveball and changeup keep him from achieving more. (David Golebiewski)

The Quick Opinion: Detwiler is healthy and is penciled in as Washington’s fifth starter in 2012, but it’s unclear what kind of workload he can handle and he’ll have to fend off Tom Gorzelanny. Past prospect status aside, Detwiler’s upside is limited.

Profile: Detwiler surprised many last year by posting a 3.40 ERA and ranking as the 62nd-best fantasy starter in the league (higher than Roy Halladay and Dan Haren), but questions abound regarding his ability to repeat that performance. He struggles to miss bats and his SIERA was almost a run higher than his ERA (4.35 to 3.40). While it was nice to see his velocity increase hold in the starting rotation, his swinging-strike rate remains below average at 7.2%. He benefited from a .263 BABIP last season, too. The Nationals' outfield defense should aid in run prevention for their rotation, but Detwiler's uptick in his ground-ball rate negates that somewhat. He's an interesting late-round selection. It would be unwise to blindly expect his current level of run prevention to continue, though, especially if his line drive rate bounced back from a career-best 16.4% to his career average of 20.2%. (JP Breen)

The Quick Opinion: As a guy who will not provide any strikeouts, your ultimate opinion on Detwiler should hinge on how confident you are that he will continue to outpitch his FIP and SIERA.

Profile: Detwiler missed most of the 2013 season with oblique and back injuries, but continued to flash his unique approach when he actually took the mound. You see, Detwiler throws his fastball almost exclusively -- nearly nine out of every 10 pitches this past year were of the four-seam or sinker variety. That's highly unusual as we think of starting pitchers as possessing at least a three-pitch mix, all of which are thrown with some sort of regularity. Detwiler's fastball-heavy approach unsurprisingly fails to generate strikeouts or any sort of strong ground-ball tilt. He has posted good walk rates though, but control is really the only skill he has excelled at. In late November, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo stated that Detwiler may be used as a reliever in 2014, which would wipe out any potential fantasy value he had. (Mike Podhorzer)

The Quick Opinion: Detwiler's reliance on the fastball has capped his strikeout potential, which really limits his fantasy upside. More importantly, he could find himself in the Nationals bullpen to open the year, which would make him undraftable.

Profile: On a lesser team, Detwiler could be a back end starter. On the Nationals, he made all of his appearances out of the bullpen last season. Detwiler has been fine when pushed into the rotation, but he lacks upside. He’s not going to strike out a ton of batters, and, outside of 2013, never showed elite control. Since the Nationals were set with late-game relievers, Detwiler was mostly limited to long-relief and during blowouts. Come playoff time, Detwiler found himself off the roster. He will reprise that role in the pitching staff, but it will come with the Rangers. Given the dangers of that park, it’s tough to recommend Detwiler as anything more than a late-round flyer in the deepest of leagues. (Chris Cwik)

The Quick Opinion: Detwiler may have found a way to get back into a starting rotation, but it comes in a poor park. Given his limited abilities, it’s tough to recommend the new Ranger as anything other than a late-round flyer.

Profile: It is hard to believe that Detwiler is still just 29, but he has lost all fantasy value and is now on a minor league contract with the Indians. The Indians have one of the strongest rotations in baseball and most certainly look at Detwiler as a left-handed relief option rather than starting pitching depth, which further reduces his already near non-existent fantasy value. Detwiler is only a few seasons removed from a pretty decent year as a starter with Washington, but he has always had difficulty missing bats and recently he has struggled immensely with finding the strike zone. A career resurgence as a reliever is not out of the question, but it is very unlikely that he becomes fantasy relevant as a reliever since he has struggled in that role in each of the past two seasons. This is not a situation where you see a starter move to the bullpen and suddenly excel. We now have about 100 innings of Detwiler the reliever and it has been erratic and unreliable. Leave him on the waiver wire in all fantasy formats. (Ben Duronio)

The Quick Opinion: Detwiler had a good 2012 as a starter but has been below replacement level since. He will be with the Indians in camp on a minor league deal this year and is not a fantasy option.

Profile: Oh, how the mediocre have fallen. It seems like Detwiler has to be touching 40, but will only turn 31 in March. He had some effective seasons in Washington, his best being 2012 when he went 10-8 with an earned run average of 3.40. Since then, things have gone downhill as he has yet to post an ERA under 4 in the majors and has spent time bouncing around teams and the minor leagues. His most recent bright spot was a 4 game AAA stint with Oakland where he posted a 3.86 ERA, and strikeout per 9 close to 10 and a walks per 9 under 2. For a pitcher under 25 year-old this is exciting, but not for a 30 year old in AAA. Oakland appears to have changed his approach from his earlier stint with Cleveland where he threw more fastballs and less change-ups. For his career, Detwiler has thrown fastballs 43% of the time and his sinker 34%. With Oakland? His fastball was used 37% and sinker 28%, while he used his changeup 15% versus a career average of 9%. Not calling for a bounce back here, but watching a pitcher change his approach is always fun to watch. Oakland offered him a minor league contract along with an invite to spring training. (Paul Kastava)

The Quick Opinion: Nothing exciting here yet, so not worth stashing in your deepest leagues. Past success was not supported by the low strikeout numbers, but a potential change in approach may give him some innings at the major league level.

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